Three major offshore wind developers have placed their bids in a second round of clean energy procurements in Massachusetts. This, in spite of a federal delay that has put the future of the offshore wind industry in flux.

by Nadine Sebai

Industry observers say the state’s decision to eliminate a price cap on renewable energy may have spurred the momentum. It comes after the Interior Department delayed the country’s first large scale offshore in order to conduct a more “cumulative analysis” of the industry’s impact on commercial fishing and the environment.

But Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, in an effort to attract more bids, eliminated a price cap measure that would require offshore wind projects to bid at a price lower than the previous project.

John Rogers is with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Removing that price cap was really important to make sure that we did get bids," John Rogers with the Union of Concerned Scientists says. "If you add in the changing federal tax situation and you include the uncertainty that the federal government has introduced, we would have seen a lot let interest from industry."